Cotton-gin brush



(N0 ModelL) W. E. ELAM & R. S. THOMAS.

COTTON GIN BRUSH.

No. 493,691. Patented Mar. 21, 1893.

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UNITED STATES W'ILLIAM E. ELAM AND ROBERT S. THOMAS, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

COTTON-GlN BRUSH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,691, dated March21, 1893. Application filed September 5, 1892. Serial No. 445,069. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. ELAM and ROBERT S. THOMAS, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and Stateof Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Gin Brushes; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

A gin brush is run at a high speed and as its diameter is necessarilylarge, centrifugal force exerts a great strain tending to dismember it,and further, if it be not at all times accurately balanced there is atendency to spring the shaft and cause rattling in the bearings whichresults in rapid wear and failure to work well.

The object of this invention is to produce a light brush that shall bestrong, balanced and durable as well as inexpensive and readilyrenovated when worn. These objects are attained by fixing upon a lightshaft a wholly closed, iron hooped, wooden drum provided with readilyremovable brush sticks held in dove-tail slots in the iron hoops andresting closely against the smooth surface of the drum in such mannerthat there is no place, either within or without the drum, for thelodgment of extraneous matters that might throw the brush, as a whole,out of balance.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side view of the drum withparts broken away and with most of the brush sticks removed. Fig. 2 is asection upon the line 2-2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows the part of one of thehoops, looking toward the axis of the brush.

In the figures, A is the brush shaft, and B, B are flanged collarssecured thereto by set screws 0 and rigidly fastened, respectively, tocircular wooden plates D, the outer plates being intended to form theends of the drum and the intermediate ones internal supports for thedrum walls. Upon these plates staves E are placed and secured to -eachplate and to each other by nails and glue. The closed drum thus formedis turned in a lathe to insure symmetry, and is also turned down, ateach end and over the middle of the intermediate plates, to receive ironhoops that further strengthen it and serve other appear. The hoops F areof malleable iron and those intended for the ends of the drum areendless bands,while the others are divided so that they may be openedand passed over the cylinder to the grooves provided for them. The bodyF of each hoop is equal in thickness to the depth of the groove ordepression turned in the drum to receive it, and each is provided withflanges F arranged to form a series of dove-tail grooves G, in whichaccurately fit brush sticks H, or sticks equal in length to the drum andbearing at proper intervals brush tufts H. The hoops are all placed inposition and so turned that the groovesregister with each other. Theends of the divided hoops are then drawn together by means of bolts Ipassing through adjacent flanges on the hoops. All the hoops arefastened in position by means of screws J that pass through the hoop,through the stave E and on into the wooden plates D. The sticks are thenforced into place end-wise, filling all the dove-tail grooves, andforming a series of which each rests snugly against the outer face ofthe drum and is parallel to the drums axis. The bolts I in the dividedhoops are temporarily removed for the insertion of the stick intendedfor the groove which the bolts cross, and the bolts are then replaced,suitable holes for the bolts having been bored through the stick. Thebolts cause the intermediate hoops to bind the drum firmly, and the endhoops are driven on with some force, so that when completed the drum hasall the strength and rigidity of an iron hooped cask and evidently ends,as -will the internal shaft cannot spring even though it be unusuallylight. Nor is there the least danger of injury though the drum be run atthe highest speed that is ever practically desirable. It is plain,too,that there is nowhere any place for the lodgment of matter that mightthrow the drum out of balance.

When by long use the brush tufts become worn, as must inevitably be thecase, the sticks may be readily removed and the brush be repaired at atrifling cost. When the journals become worn, the old shaft can be takenout and the new shaft be inserted, holes 0 being left in the drum topermit access to the set screws. These holes are covered by one of thebrush sticks so that nothing can enter the drum, and this stick isremoved when access to the set screws is desired.

What we claim is- 1. The combination with a brush shaft and an entirelyclosed hollow wooden drum secured thereto, of metal hoops encirclingsaid drum and sunk in its surface until flush therewith, and a series ofbrush sticks fitting against said surface and removably secured to saidhoops.

2. The combination with the wooden drum, of the metal hoops sunk in itssurface and provided with a series of projecting flanges forming aseries of dove-tail slots, and brush sticks fitting in said slots,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the shaft, of the hollow wooden drum having endclosing plates and intermediate plates supporting the drum walls, meansfor fixing the drum to said shaft, metal hoops encircling the drum, andbrush sticks fitting againstthe outer face ofthe drum and removablysecured to said hoops.

4- In a gin brush, the combination with the drum, of the divided hoophaviilg the external flanges adapted to receive brush sticks, and thebelt passing through said flanges and clamping the hoop upon the drum,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with a shaft, of a normally closed, hollow,brush-bearing drum secured to the shaft by devices located within thedrum, apertures for permitting access to said devices, and closuresnormally stopping said apertures.

In testimony whereof We affix oursignatures in presence of twowitnesses.

WV. E. ELAM. R. S. THOMAS.

Vtitnesses:

S. H. MCBRIDE, BEN I-I. BRooKs.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent, N 0. 493,691, grantedMarch 21, 1893, upon the application of William E. Elam and Robert S.Thomas, of Dallas, Texas, for an improvement in Cotton-Gin Brushes, anerror appears in the printedspecification requiring the followingcorrection, viz.: In line 28, page 2, the word belt should read bolt;and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same mayconform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 11th day ofApril, A. D. 1893.

CYRUS BUSSEY, Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

[SEAL] Oountersigned:

N. L. FROTHINGHAM,

Acting Omnmissz'oner of Patents.

